Record plunge in foreign trips

The recession triggered the biggest fall in foreign travel ever recorded. Last year there were 58.6 million trips abroad, against 69 million in 2008 — a decline of 15 per cent.

Economic turmoil, soaring unemployment and a collapse in the pound meant 2009 was the year of the "staycation". There is also greater awareness of the environmental damage caused by flying, experts believe. Some 2.2 million fewer Britons went to Spain and 1.1 million fewer visited France, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The biggest loser was Mexico, with a 41 per cent plunge, largely linked to the swine flu scare.

The number of trips within Britain rose by almost 10 million

to 126 million last year, with top destinations including Devon and Cornwall, Brighton and the Lake District.